-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com you're looking at the spot where "fast & furious" star paul walker died in a crash on saturday leaving his fans and others around the world in shock. what happened? it's 11:00 in the east. do you know where your news is? i'm don lemon. this is "the 11th hour," the last word on today's news and what you'll be talking about tomorrow. is a porche carrera gt just too hot to handle? and america going to pot. almost 40% of you admit to smoking marijuana at least once

and i'll bet that number is even higher, pun intended. colorado is about to let everybody get high. should you? so you heard it hear first the war on drugs is over. come january the white flag goes up in smoke in colorado. anyone can legally smoke pot just for fun. we're not talking medical marijuana here. it's about to become a big and profitable business and colorado is just the beginning. watch this story now by cnn's miguel marquez. >> this is our vegetative growth room. >> reporter: andy williams is about to be the captain of the country's newest growth industry, colorado's legal recreational pot business. >> is it a factory of pot. >> reporter: his medicine man will be selling to user up to an ounce for colorado residents, anyone over 21 can buy starting january 1.

industry watchers say it will be the first time ever anywhere in the world that marijuana has been regulated from seed to sale, making colorado a silicon valley for pot. >> it appears that you guys are already bulking up in preparation for what happens january 1. >> every one of my competitors is going the same thing. >> reporter: how much news business does he expect? >> this is the future? >> this is the future of medicine man. >> oh, my. >> reporter: planned is a state-of-the-art facility so advanced they are expecting tourists. >> this is not enough to meet demand next year. we need to expand more. >> reporter: he'd like to triple his supply and he's not the only one. >> this is the new world? what is this? >> reporter: this is the future. >> it's an industry expected to grow from just over $1 billion today to over $10 billion by 2018. companies here sinking millions

figuring out how to consume pot in new ways. open vape gives a user an exact dose with almost no smoke. >> we grew 1600 percent in 2013. >> open vape expects to double its work force in 2014 taking a page nor from the dot com boom. >> you think it is guys smoking pot in the offices. it's not like that. we are building a culture of excellence. >> reporter: taxes on sales are expected to generate tens of millions of revenue for the state. it's already creating jobs. >> is there anybody here with an appointment. >> reporter: the marijuana

enforcement division jammed hope with people trying to get a license to work in the new industry. every aspect regulated. possession of an ounce or less legal in the state's borders. but the counties in red are banned or haven't yet decided if they allow pot sales. for many here, it is still baby steps. >> we are hoping we can provide a model for that for other states as they elect to move forward with their own marijuana policy. >> reporter: the colorado experiment taking root. the "denver post" has hired a recreational marijuana editor. and matt brown says non-coloradans are excited to experience the new rocky mountain high. >> we are expecting 2 to 3,000 people next year on our guided tours. >> reporter: even cannabis cooking classes. blaine alexander who teaches

some classes today sees more. >> can you see a restaurant, blaine's? >> alexander's. >> all right, fine. >> i would love that. yeah. i mean, that has always been my goal. >> reporter: a goal that here in colorado could soon be reality. >> this is a show for adults and cnn knows they never knows what is coming out of my mouth. i will be honest here. i know plenty of people who smoke pot. i'm not unfamiliar with it myself. a lot of you, not all of you may say the same. i want to bring in miguel marquez, one of the men with the best assignments in the business. and ricardo is the "denver post" new pot editor. >> miguel, did you get high? >> i did not get high in colorado except for the clean rocky mountain sort.

>> but it's not a big secret, you have? >> i have spoked pot many times in the past. the issue for myself has always been control. that i never now how it's going to hit you. i haven't smoked it in years. that's what is going to change in colorado. i was blown away. >> are they worried that people are going to run to california just to get high? are they bracing for that? >> i think that there is going to be a very big party in colorado on january 1st. it's not clear that on that day people will be able to buy in these stores. it's a regulated licenses regime they have to go to throw start selling recreationally. but there will be some of that going on january 1st. >> ricardo, you are a pot editor and i think that's a first. >> i am. it's crazy. >> what does that mean? >> well you know, i'm overseeing all our marijuana coverage here. we already have the biggest

staff covering this issue. bigger than anybody else certainly in the state. since we are the first we want to continue to amp up that news coverage and add entertainment, criticism and make sure we are the source that everybody comes to for that news. >> i just think that the genie is out of the bottle and colorado is leading the charge here. but there are unknowns here. and i'm sure as part of your job, you will be reporting on that. >> there are a lot of unknowns. come january 1st, we have no idea what's going to happen. but we find it very exciting to be here in this position. i promise we have reporters on the ground in denver, aspen, southern colorado, western colorado, i myself might spend new year's eve with the wu tang clan just to have my eyes on the prize. i will take that assignment

happily. >> so you have -- you are no stranger to pot either, right? you don't smoke it, you say -- >> i eat it. edibles are the only way i can really consume it. but i enjoy it. >> edibles are huge. but you don't know how you it will effective. you smoke and know it will be over in an hour. >> the difficult bit about this that will take education is that people don't realize if you had a brownie it takes longer to kick in. people eat more and more and are plastered. >> there will be a pot critic and has that job already been filled? >> you know, it hasn't. i'm still taking resumes. people can fiend my e-mail address john lionline. i'm looking for a local to colorado. local to colorado pot critic is what we're looking for. >> you will get a lot more out

of this. thank you very muchry car do baca and miguel. >> in a minute, not everybody's down with the rocky mountain high. but we're going to debate that. what really caused the crash that killed paul walker? [ male announcer ] this store knows how to handle a saturday crowd. ♪ [ male announcer ] the parking lot helps by letting us know who's coming. the carts keep everyone on the right track. the power tools introduce themselves. all the bits and bulbs keep themselves stocked. and the doors even handle the checkout so we can work on that thing that's stuck in the thing.

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. i'm don lemon. it's "the 11th hour." thank you for reaching out on social media. we really appreciate it. america has gone from a president who told us he did not inhale to one who, by his own admission, used pot, and as he putted, a little blow as a student. has this country gone to pot? joining me is ethan needleman and neil franklin. so, i want to start with you -- let's start with ethan. ethan, across the country, do you think that everyone's going to follow suit with colorado? and that's a good idea? >> well, it's going to take a while. look to oregon to go next, maybe alaska, california maybe. but the big news is outside the country where uruguay will be

the first country to legalize marijuana and follow in the footsteps of colorado and washington. but when 58% of americans say theyry "r" in favor of legally regulating marijuana like alcohol. and when that support is coming from people who don't use marijuana and worry about their kids i think it's just a matter of time before we see marijuana become legally regulated around the country and in many parts of the world. >> neil, do you agree with ethan it will be legalized? many people think in 10 or 15 years many states will be similar to colorado especially with the support we are seeing with the recent poll? >> i agree with ethan, 100 percent. not just in states with a referendum. but in pennsylvania where the legislators have to move the policy, we are seeing the policymakers realizing it's a safe place now to talk about

regulation and control, tax and regulating marijuana. so we're going to see it across the country and move across the globe. >> people may be surprised because you are a director against prohibition and retired state police major saying this. why are you saying this as a former cop? >> first of all i spent most of my career in either drug enforcement or criminal enforcement commanding multijurisdictional drug task groups. i have seen the harm it has caused. if you want marijuana available to kids and line the pockets to drug dealers this is the perfect policy in which to do this. drug dealers hire children to sell drugs to other children and they do it within our schools and the hallways and classrooms. adults can not do that.

if you want marijuana into our schools, this is the perfect policy for it. drug dealers don't care. >> howard samuels, do you think this is going to keep kids safer if it is legalized or regulated across the country? >> i got to tell you, don, i'm sick to my stomach after watching that video. and this is a real emotional issue for me. and i'll tell you why. i work with addicts for the last over 20 years. i have had to deal with marijuana addicts and their dysfunction and many years of their lives totally ruined because of smoking weed on a daily basis. in fact myself i started smoking weed at 15 and became addicted to marijuana. and after that wore off i went to cocaine and heroin. i'm sober 29 years now. i think this is a absolute sickening idea that is happening

in colorado and oregon. i think it's about money and big tobacco and i want to ask ethan a serious question, okay? what's he going to do to help people who are addicted with all the millions of dollars that organization has in order to get their organization through this initiative? are they going to build treatment centers? and help the addicted? >> i think you are living evidence that prohibition has failed. it did nothing to keep half the people from using marijuana. the evidence of the failure of marijuana is overwhelming. the bottom line is are we going to treat it as a health issue or a criminal issue. one would think we should treat it as health issue. there is no question about the failure of the war on marijuana. why do we lock young people up and arrest tons of young people up? >> we don't -- >> the fact of the matter they

are getting arrested -- >> let howard finish. >> ethan, go ahead. >> half the arrests in this country are from marijuana. if there is a ballot initiative you can be assured that some of the money will go to schools, education and drug treatment which is more 245than the war o drugs is producing. >> stand by. mitch is sitting there and not looking happy about this. especially because you are a child psychiatrist and as i said, the founder of the phoenix house. >> what this does to adolescent brains and the damage it does to young people do you think regulating it and making it legal this is a bad thing for -- will this keep it out of the hands of young people. >> it won't. we'll have a lot of it that goes to them and they will use it. and it will hurt them.

they will fail in school. 10% of them will become marijuana dependent and as howard was saying, many of them will go on to other drugs. you know, for 50 years, i've been dealing with people who've had problems with marijuana. it's very serious when you see them. i don't think people in colorado are going to be smiling and laughing and having big parties in two years. i think i'm in some ways it's useful they are doing this big experiment. not everybody in colorado is happy about it. many parents feel that there shouldn't be advertising, that there -- there has to be a real cap and a real control on sale to minor also. but there won't be. there will be a black market for minors and i think we will still have as neil was saying, we'll still have kids selling to kids.

we'll still have as we found in phoenix house when we did a survey a couple years ago that family members will be sharing their pot just as people now who are getting medical marijuana are sharing their pot. we will see -- >> wait one second. we will see a three-fold increase in marijuana use and it -- the fallout from that is going to be tremendous. >> okay. so mitch we'll see what happens in colorado. but i preface, i want to say to you guys, what is the difference families are sharing alcohol and it is legal. alcohol is more damaging than marijuana if you look at any recent study. >> alcohol is a very serious drug. it's -- >> but it's legal, mitch. >> that doesn't mean we should introduce another legal powerful drug -- and the --

>> and the failure of the -- >> wait a second -- >> ethan -- >> listen, guys -- >> thank you i'm sorry we have to go. we have gone on longer than my producers wanted to go. we have only an allotted amount of time. there this discussion will continue. very much thanks to all of you. the "fast & furious" crash that killed paul walker. a look at the dream car that turned deadly. a subaru... ...are the hands that do good things for the whole community: the environment, seniors, kids, and animals. that's why we created the share the love event. by the end of this year, the total donated by subaru could reach 35 million dollars. you get a great deal on a new subaru. we'll donate 250 dollars to a choice of charities that benefit your community. it feels good to be a helping hand.

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